Road or pavement.



NO. 777,860. PATENTED DEC. 20, '1904. F. J. NASH.

lROAD 0R PAVEMENT. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12, 190s.

No MODEL. I

www1/hof ww/ @my A .ITLFTLVTI Patented December 20, 1904.

FREDERIC J. NASH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ROAD OR PAVEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent-No. 777,860, dated December 20, 1904.

Application iiied Jiiiie 12,1903. seriii1No.161,173.

To all whom, it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, FREDERIC J. NASH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roads or Pavements, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a road or pavement which is a substitute for and is far superior to the roads or pavements which have heretofore been made of blocks, either entirely or with a suitable wearing-surface in addition to the blocks.

A further object of the invention is to provide a road or pavement composed of blocks which is durable, cheap, and efficient and in which the blocks-are preferably and advantageously made of artificial sandstone, known generally as sand or lime-sand7 brick.

A further object of the invention is to provide a road or pavement with a good, strong, and heavy or massive foundation and which is furnished with a superposed layer which may readily expand and contract under the heat of the direct rays of the sun, which will not be cracked or damaged by frost or in any other manner, and which may be readily replaced in case it forms the wearing-surface.

Another object of the invention is to take advantage of the provisions of nature by building the road or pavement of a material which may be readily obtained in the vicinity in which the same is to be built.

To these ends my invention consists of certain features of construction to be hereinafter described and then particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a cross-section of a road or pavement embodying the present in vention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the road or pavement, the blocks of the lower layer being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the road or pavement in modified form, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of a lower block.

The present invention utilizing sandstone made of sand and lime, sand being the principal constituent, the pavement or road made in accordance therewith is especially adapted for those portions of the country which are sandy and where it is desired to substitute a block pavement or road possessing the advantages of my invention for the ordinary block pavements composed of natural stone or any other material. The sand used in forming the blocks may be ordinary quarry-sand or even sea-sand mixed with a-suitable quantity of lime or alkali to form the binder. Any other suitable material in the nature of sand may be used-as, for instance, the granulated scoria from blast-furnaces.

One way of making sand-lime brick-blocks is to miX the same with the binder wet and then mold the same into blocks or bricks in a suitable press, after which the blocks in suitable quantity are placed in a hermeticallysealed chamber and subjected to the direct action of high-pressure steam containing suitable chemicals, so that by the action the hydrated'lime and silicic acid of the sand combine and form a silicate of linie, giving to the blocks their hardness and waterproof properties. This method of forming the sand-lime brick is merely cited as one good way in which the same can be made.

The road or pavement according to my invention is composed of at least two layers a 7), each layer being made up of sand-lime brickblocks, the lower layer being suitably laid with regularly-placed joints in cement, such as Rosendale cement. The superposed layer also composed of sand-lime brick-blocks, preferably and advantageously forms the wear portion of the road or pavement. The blocks of the superposed layer b are of smaller dimensions than the blocks of the lower layer and are laid upon the blocks of the lower layer in regular courses, so as to break joint therewith. By using' smaller blocks for the superposed layer Z) the said layer is adapted to expand and contract under the heat of the direct rays of the sun without damage to the blocks, as might be the case if the blocks were of considerable size. Furthermore, being smaller than the lower blocks, they may be laid upon them without having to take great care that there are break-joints. Also being smaller than the blocks of the lower layer, the upper blocks will not be injured by frost, which might result if larger. The superposed layer being composed of sand lime brick- IOO blocks furnishes an exceedingly firm foothold for horses, especially in wet weather, and

thus lessens the danger of their slipping. It also furnishes a road or pavement of a very neat, uniform, and pleasing appearance. The lower blocks may have vertical holes (Z to facilitate drainage off of any water which may get in through the joints in the upper layer.

Should it be desired to provide a separate wear-surface, such as a layer c of suitable cement, as shown in Fig. 3, the cement will have a strong hold upon the sand brick.

The process of making the sand-lime brick is cheap and is exceedingly desirable and preferable where clay is not to be obtained, and the sand-lime-brick road or pavement is to be composed, essentially, of two layers of sandlime brick. The blocks of the upper layer being of smaller dimensions than those of the lower layer furnish a very desirable road or pavement for those who prefer block roads or pavements. It is evident that in laying out the road or pavement in a practically sandy country the sand which is removed for leveling may be formed into sand-lime brick for use n building' the road composed in the main of sand particles in block form.

A block pavement or road made under my presentinvention may be made at a much less expenditure of .money than a pavement or road composed entirely of natural stone.

Having` thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A structure for roads and the like, comprising a lower or foundation layer consisting essentially of sand-lime briclbblocks and a superposed layer of smaller blocks, substantially for the purpose set forth.

2. A structure for roads and the like, comprising a lower or foundation layer consisting` essentially of sand-lime brick-blocks and a superposed layer consisting essentially of sandlime brick-blocks, substantially for the purpose set forth.

3. A structure for roads and the like, comprising a lower or foundation layer consisting essentially of sand-lime brick-blocks and a superposed layer consisting' essentially of smaller sand-lime brick-blocks, substantially for the purpose set forth.

4t. A structure for roads and the like, comprising at least two layers of sand-lime brickblocks, the lower blocks being,` larger than the upper blocks, and breaking joint with the same, substantially for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIC J. NASH,

Witnesses:

E. VAN ZANDT, Guo. L. WrrEELooK. 

